ARTICLES ABOUT AVENTIS PHARMA BY DATE - PAGE 2

NEW DELHI: Sanofi-Aventis is in advanced talks for a strategic tie-up with nutraceuticals firm Universal Medicare, maker of popular codliver oil capsules brand Seacod, which will help the French drugmaker scale up its over-the-counter (OTC) business in India. According to a person close to the deal, Sanofi-Aventis may buy a majority stake or key brands valuing the Indian company at around Rs 450 crore. The privately-held Indian drugmaker, owned by Vikram Tannan and family, has annual sales of Rs 100 crore.

Investors were seen flocking to the counters of select MNC pharma companies which have emerged as defensive bets amid choppy market conditions for last few days. Low debt and huge cash on their books have made pharma shares attractive to investors, after RBI increased benchmark interest rates by more than expected 50 bps on Tuesday, according to analysts. Among notable gainers, Pfizer touched its 52-week high of 1,636.2, before closing 2.6% up at 1,508.4, while GlaxoSmithKline Pharma rose 3.4% to 2,379 on the BSE on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Aventis Pharma today said its net profit rose by 17.21 per cent year-on-year to Rs 49.7 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 42.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, Aventis Pharma said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Net sales of the company rose to Rs 302.8 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, from Rs 271.5 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

3:30 pm: - Benchmarks ended on a lower note but off day's lows as buying resumed near support levels following positive cues from European peers. Pharmaceuticals, capital goods and metals ended higher while oil&gas, realty and IT space were the top sectoral losers. National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 5864.35, down 10.15 points or 0.17 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5893.20 and low of 5791.55 in today's trade. Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 19529.99, down 54.32 points or 0.28 per cent.

MUMBAI: Shares of Aventis Pharma today rose by over four per cent to touch a one-year high on the BSE, bolstered by a handsome growth in the company's net profit at Rs 50.6 crore for the January-March quarter ended March 31, 2011. Reacting to the numbers, the stock ended the day higher by 4.57 per cent at Rs 2,000.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). In intra-day trade, the scrip jumped up by 10.64 per cent to touch a 52-week high of Rs 2,117. The pharma company's counter attracted buyers on the National Stock Exchange as well, where it climbed 3.89 per cent to close at Rs 1,999.

ET Now spoke to Sudarshan Sukhani, Technical Trends, on his stock ideas for today. What are your stock ideas for today? The markets are coming in consolidation. The first of them is ABB. ABB rallied, after the rally it was in a small consolidation on the back of capital goods gains everywhere. ABB is ripe for another up move. The 2nd is Shree Cement. Shree Cement has seen a very decent rally. It is now in a narrow range. Again narrow range trades will breakout on the upside.

MUMBAI: Shares of Aventis Pharma rose by nearly 6 per cent in early trade on the BSE today, boosted by an over four-fold jump in net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2010. The company yesterday posted an over four-fold increase in net profit to Rs 104.9 crore for the three-month period ended December 31, 2010. The board of the pharma firm has recommended a final dividend of Rs 23 per share of Rs 10 face value for the year ended December 31, 2010.

NEW DELHI: Aventis Pharma on Wednesday said its net profit surged over four-fold to Rs 104.9 crore in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, over the same period last fiscal. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 26 crore for the same period previous fiscal, Aventis Pharma said in a filing the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Total income of the company rose to Rs 307.2 crore for Q4 2010, compared to Rs 258.7 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

NEW DELHI: Aventis Pharma today said it has completed the sale of its 49 per cent stake in Chiron Behring Vaccines Private Ltd (CBVPL) to its joint venture partner Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Inc for Rs 100 crore. The company, which completed stake sale on December 23, received sale consideration of Rs 1,007.5 million (USD 22.399 million), Aventis Pharma said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). All legal proceedings filed in connection with the disputes between the company and Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Inc/ CBVPL have been unconditionally withdrawn by all parties, it added.

MUMBAI: Aventis Pharma, the Indian arm of Sanofi Aventis , is exiting its joint venture Chiron Behring Vaccines by selling its 49% to the other partner Novartis, Aventis said in a statement to stock exchanges on Monday. Novartis will buy the stake in the rabies vaccine venture for $22.4 million, it said. Novartis has been distributing the vaccine since February 2009. Aventis was doing this earlier. According to the agreement, Aventis will provide some support for Chiron's manufacturing plant in Ankleshwar for three years.